Thank you netgalley and st martins press..

I enjoyed this angsty read.... the grief journey and banter... I think tje plot twists added to this enemies to lovers story great job Amy!!!

Such a good read that I enjoyed! I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, but also one of the hardest to get right. Let's Call a Truce did some things well, but struggled at times to balance the tone in a way that ultimately failed for me.

Juliana is struggling with being a newly single parent after her husband dies in an accident. As she returns to the workforce, she worries about balancing her daughters' needs, her own grief, and her new workload. She's instantly sympathetic, especially when her handsome coworker Ben derides her abilities when Juliana has a family emergency. This sets off their rivalry and is a pretty good start, considering it's no miscommunication--he was genuinely being a jerk.

Cut to two years later, and the two are in constant battle. I didn't have a problem with that. What I did have a problem with is how Ben was fairly flirtatious while Juliana seemed to loathe him. She goes out of her way to be petty and mean. There was a real mismatch in the tone of their interactions, which are later reframed as enjoyable flirting. Without Juliana's internal narration to clarify that she enjoys battling with Ben, the sexual tension seems both forced and out of place, especially their first kiss.

The problems, for me, escalated from there. Sure, people can form sexual relationships on chemistry only, but Juliana never entertained that as a possibility--she started talking about dating him yet still seemed to actively hate him. My initial sympathy for her dissipated quickly when she was hot and cold with Ben and continued to be mean to both him and her supportive friends. As an example, she refused to let Ben tell her about himself and his life, then got angry with him for not sharing things--that she specifically asked him not to share.

The dialogue and exposition were at times awkwardly stilted and formal. There is a sex scene that happens at work during the work day, which made me uncomfortable, but might not bother some people.

I enjoyed the middle of the story the most, when Ben and Juliana were working things out. However, I had huge issues with most of the ending, which I'm hiding because of spoilers.

*SPOILER* [When Ben's ex shows back up in his life, she moves into his house and thinks they're dating again. Ben refuses to kick her out for the sake of his daughter, whom his ex abandoned, thus destroying his relationship with Juliana. Perhaps I could have understood his initial reaction of wanting to protect his daughter, but it becomes clear very quickly that his ex is, at best, neglectful of their daughter, if not downright abusive. When Ben FINALLY kicks his ex to the curb after far too long, it's because he can't live without Juliana anymore, NOT because his daughter was being mistreated. That was a step too far for me.] *END SPOILER*

In the end, Ben was an idiot for way too long for Juliana to forgive him so quickly. It felt like he won her over with flowers and the promise of a vacation. His mistakes were far too egregious for me to get over them.

While this book had some high points, particularly in the depiction of grief, single parenthood, and imposter syndrome, the relationship just didn't work for me. For readers looking for a great enemies to lovers romance, I think you might end up disappointed, like I was.

Thanks @netgalley @smpromance and @amybuchananbooks for the chance to read and review Let's Call a Truce. It releases on January 14th, 2025.

You don't want to miss Amy's sparkling, witty, HOT 🔥 debut romance. Her writing is the perfect combination of humor and heart. I had the chance to beta-read this book, and I fell in love with these characters all over again reading it again. Pre-order now!

When Juliana unexpectedly loses her husband, she's forced to return to the workplace after years of staying home with her two kids. It's hard enough navigating her new normal, but then she overhears a colleague named Ben complaining about her, setting off a years-long feud between them. Two years later, they are forced to collaborate on a career-defining project and call a truce. But as they spend more time together, they realize the spark between them might be something else entirely.

Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Tropes: single mom, enemies-to-lovers, work romance, he falls first, found family, recreational use of office furniture

Let's Call a Truce was a happy surprise. It's not often these days that I get to read a brand spanking new author's work and it's rarer that I enjoy it as much as I enjoyed this one. I really enjoyed how much fun it was reading Juliana and Ben's bickering and their ultimate capitulation into the romance fueled, initially, by all of their sexual tension. As we get to know them both, we discover their histories that make it difficult to move forward, which only serves to make us want them together even that much more. I enjoyed how much their lives overlapped and what an obviously good pair they made. I enjoyed their banter, the secondary characters, and even the yucky stuff that had to happen in order for them to realize that they needed to be together. My only complaint, a minor one, was that the build up to their getting together sometimes seemed a little repetitive or maybe I was just impatient for them to get to the good stuff? Ultimately, though, I was very happy with how it all played out and it was a solid 4 star read for me.

Classic enemies to friends to lovers.
Loved the combination of characters
Little bit of spice.
Overall, I enjoyed and would definitely read more from this author

Upon finishing Let's Call a Truce I immediately headed to Amy Bunchanan's profile because I wanted to dive into her other works, so imagine my surprise when I find out she's a debut author! I'm even more impressed by this work knowing it's an author's debut. It was such a fulfilling, heart-racing journey from start to end.

At its center is the rivals-to-lovers romance between our leads Juliana and Ben. Ben gets off on the wrong foot with Juliana who doesn't forget it for the next two years. Yet it's less a build of up animosity that follows, and more of a build up of secret mutual attraction via a push-and-pull. They play off each other brilliantly and underneath their biting words there is always a smile sneaking its way to the surface. They enjoy each other, but there is also a lot of individual history that holds them back from pursuing more at different points in the story. I thought each hurdle was appropriately placed and paced. This wasn't just a fluffy love story, this was a love story dealing with grief and its acceptance; a love story dealing with fear and its confrontation. There is so much heart to tend to, and the narrative does it quite beautifully.

I admit I felt frustrated at times in the first half by Juliana constantly shutting Ben out, but I also came to love her dearly. When her friend rightly calls out Juliana's behavior, I found myself wanting to go to her defense even though I had the same thoughts as the friend, haha! But it just goes to show even with my annoyance, I also came to fall in love with Juliana and I embraced her, flaws and all. By the second half, it was Ben who took a bit of my scorn, but he never lost my love either. I understood them both even as I became frustrated by certain choices. Bunchanan did a phenomenal job in allowing our leads to make mistakes, to be vulnerable, to be human-- while ensuring these characters are ones we never stop cheering on. These are characters we want to see find a happily ever after with one another.

I left this one with a full heart and a grand ol' smile. And I most certainly will be making my way to bookshop on release day and grabbing me a copy!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily.

Fun story, lots of banter, but it was tinged with a lot of childishness for an adult. I didn’t t really like Juliana for most of the book as she clearly needed to grow up and spend more time in therapy.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this contemporary second-chance romance. The enemies-to-lovers trope is always an interesting one. Juliana and Ben's story definitely held my attention. However, I'll be honest and say I didn't feel completely captivated by the leading characters. They were interesting enough, but I couldn't relate to their lives much so that kind of made me feel like I was just reading their story, not truly experiencing their emotions and feeling like I was invested in the outcome of their lives.

I spent a lot of time trying to understand where Juliana was coming from with all her feelings towards Ben and her new life. At times she just aggravated me, lots. Ben wasn't quite the man I thought he was at first, so that was interesting. He kind of grew on me, LOL Each of them clearly had issues that they needed to deal with!

I would expect that a reader who has experienced some of what either Juliana and/or Ben has experienced will find this story much more relatable and therefore, very captivating. There's back-and-forth banter, laughs, angsty feelings, steamy times. The story is well-written. I think many readers will find this to be an enjoyable story and a satisfying read. Give it a try.

loved this romance of enemies to lovers and with them working together , and their kids becoming good friends. loved her friends and that she had support from her family raising the girls after the death of her husband. Loved seeing her find her way at her job

I found myself starting to hate read this book. I was wondering what exactly the FMC was bringing to the table in her friendships. How did she not notice a big reveal - that in hindsight was super obvious!- while working with the MMC for years?! It felt like the romance was going to build but all of the sudden the MMC was all in and the building momentum had peaked... but somehow I missed it.
Overall I wanted to love this one but it didn't work for me.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC of this novel.

title: Let's Call a Truce

author: Amy Buchanan

publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

publication date: January 14, 2025

pages: 336

peppers: 3 (on this scale)

warnings: 

parental, violent death (off-page, before story)
parental abandonment
alcohol

summary: Widow Juliana is excited to prove herself in her job in HR after her years staying home with her young daughters, but she's not excited about working with her nemesis, Ben, who doesn't seem to understand the demands of being a single parent with a full-time job. Though there's a clear frisson of energy between them, they spend most of their time engaged in a petty war...until they need to call a truce for a work project to start an intern program.

tropes:

enemies-to-lovers
work relationships
our kids are friends
recently widowed
spouse who abandons the family
work trip
grand gesture

what I liked:

There were some great scenes with the daughters and friends.
Buchanan shows them getting to know each other, paying attention to the other.
She integrated the death-of-a-true-love feeling into Juliana's present life well.
The kids are cute and believable.

what I didn’t like:

Juliana doesn't seem mature enough to be a thirty-five-year-old mother of two.
She changes her mind too many times.

overall rating: 3 (of 5 stars) (some scenes were 4 or 5, but I found Juliana's arc too annoying to give the overall book more)

Let's Call a True is a steamy contemporary romance about second chances at life and love and it was such a joy to read!

It's an angsty, funny, relatable and spice even as well. There's workplace romance with a dish of hostility and enemies to lovers. Juliana's struggle with grief was relatable and vulnerable. Ben is always challenging Juliana and lifting her up and supporting her. They both had their flaws but in the end they're perfect for each other. I loved the bickering and banter. It's such a fun thing when the author can write flirty banter where they challenge each other and it's witty. As a debut novel, Amy Buchanan is clever, charming and swoony in her writing. The characters were thoughtfully written and beautifully captured what life is with grief and learning to move on with life and that life keeps going on and you can always have a second chance at love.

This book was so fun! I love a good enemies to lovers workplace romance...it just adds such a fun dynamic to every story! Adding in the single parent aspect added dimension to both MCs and I found myself sneaking off to my kindle to find out more about their story! 4 stars!

I received an arc of this book and am so glad I did! I really enjoyed it. If you are a fan of The Hating Game but want a little more mature characters with a little more intense background plot, this is a great book for you! This book has a little bit of everything in it and didn’t just stop at workplace romance/banter, which was nice!

Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan is such a fabulous and amazing debut!

This book sucks you in from the beginning with the depth and emotional storyline and then heats up the pages with the tension and NSFW scenes.

Read this for:
- Single Mom
- Forced proximity
- Enemies to lovers
- HE IS GONE FOR HER
- Workplace

Juliana's husband dies suddenly leaving her to support her family of two girls. After years away from the corporate world, she finds herself thrown back into work to help support her family. Navigating the change isn't easy between the struggle for managing being a single parent, the bills, and of course the grief her and her children have suffered.

She meets Ben, her obnoxiously attractive co-worker, on her first day and things do not go well. A long time feud starts that causes animosity between them for two years. The two are forced to work together on a project and Juliana has to make it work in order to get the promotion she wants and deserves.

Through a lot of forced proximity and and unveiling of so many misconceptions, Juliana starts to see the real Ben. The two have insane chemistry. THAT DESK SCENE THO! And Ben really can't keep his hands off Juliana once he gets them there. Juliana still is healing from such a traumatic past with her husband who passed away that she finds herself hesitating in the relationship. Just when she is ready to go all in, things get even more complicated, and Ben makes choices she can't live with in their relationship.

The gravel Ben does to win her back is top tier. You will be crushed but Amy will put your heart back together!

I loved the humor, and the depth of emotion that we even got glimpses of through Juliana's young girls. The struggles were so real and vivid, and I appreciated that Amy didn't shy away from showing the vulnerability of dealing with grief.

I loved the twist that was in the book that really made you obsessed with Ben. I am not going to spoil it, but Ben is top tier book boyfriend material.

I loved this one and highly recommend pre-ordering it for when it comes out in January of next year! I can't wait to see what Amy writes next!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

📚Let’s Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️


This romcom is incredible. 💕 Juliana and Ben’s meet-cute was flawless, and their chemistry was off the charts. Without giving away spoilers, the way their lives (and their backstories) unfolded felt very real to me, especially anything related to motherhood. Ben and Juliana’s back-and-forth banter made me giggle, and when Ben flirted with Juliana (which was a lot), my toes curled. 😏

And the steamy scenes? Well, those were the chef's kiss perfect. Get a glass of iced tea because you’ll get thirsty reading them.🥵

Amy Buchanan, you have a new fan, and I can’t wait to read your next book!

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin, for the eARC.


⚠️ TW: loss of a partner (off the pages)

I literally stayed up until 4 am devouring this ARC, I really have no words for how much I loved it. It's an angsty, funny, relatable and sexy ride of a book. I thought it would be a simple enemies to lovers book but it came with an unexpected twist and so much depth. Juliana's struggle with grief struck a cord within me and I appreciate an author who can write grief well. Ben is such a top tier mmc, always challenging Juliana and lifting her up and supporting her. They both had their flaws but in the end they're perfect for each other. I am so looking forward to whatever Amy Buchanan does next! Thank you NetGalley, Amy Buchanan and St. Martins Press for this ARC!

After the unexpected death of her husband, a former workaholic and stay at home mom is forced to return back to the workforce in this beautifully written, and sometimes steamy, debut romance by Amy Buchanan.

Juliana Ryan never expected her husband to die. In fact, after quitting her successful career in Human Resources to become a stay at home mom, the only thing she expected was to be running after her daughter and driving around town to soccer practice every weekend. Now with no steady income and two grieving kids to take care of, Juliana is forced to return back to a less than thriving career and hope that one day things will return back to normal.

Ben Thomas was not what she was hoping for. An arrogant, condescending, and incredibly attractive coworker was the last thing Juliana needed when she took a job at Keller, Muñoz, and Griffin. Nevertheless, if people who hate each other every day can work together, why can’t they call a truce?

For a debut author, Amy has a bright future ahead of her. Her writing is captivating, sweet, and includes just the right amount of steamy subplots to keep you entertained and wanting more. The characters were thoughtfully written and beautifully captured, and with the heavy plot of losing someone you imagined your entire life with, made to have found light with each other at the end of a dark tunnel. Highly recommend!

I just finished reading Let's call a truce a few days ago and I loved it! It's the perfect mix of light hearted romance with some heartbreaking depth!

It tells the story of Julianna who is a single mom, widowed, that is trying to go back to work and juggle all of her roles. She is feeling the pressure of being there for her girls but still trying to climb the ladder at work and be able to support them. (I thought Amy Buchanan made it so relatable and showed all the different sides of this daily battle so many face!)

Julianna meets Ben on her first day and from that first moment they are basically enemies - years later they realize they may not be so different after all (I don't want to give anything away)!

Julianna has to face the feelings and struggle that come with moving on for the first time after her spouses passing. Unfortunately even after she is ready there are still some bumps in the road for Julianna and Ben - but I was so happy with the ending of this story!!

If you love work place romance, enemies to lovers, and a little spice - I think this is the book for you!

"You're right. I won't ask you not to be scared, but I will ask you to choose me anyway. Be scared with me."

Thank you NetGalley, Amy Buchanan and St. Martins Press for this ARC!